What We Believe

Holy Scriptures

We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the verbally and plenarily inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible, and God-breathed and therefore, are the final authority for faith and life. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament are the complete and divine revelation of God to Man. (II Tim 3:16-17; II Pet 1:20-21)

Dispensationalism

We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their natural literal sense reveal divinely determined dispensations or rules of life which define man’s responsibilities in successive ages. These dispensations are not ways of salvation, but rather are divinely ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His purpose. Three of these dispensations-the law, the church, and the kingdom-are the subjects of detailed revelation in Scripture. (Gen1:28; I Cor 9:17; II Cor 3:9-18; Gal 3:13-25; Eph 1:10; Col 1:24-25, 27; Rev 20:2-6)

The Godhead

We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three persons-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, coequal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. (Deut 6:4; Matt 28:19; John 14:10, 26; II Cor 13:14)

The Person and Work of Christ

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. (Isa 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; II Cor 5:19-21; Gal 4:4-5; Phil 2:5-8)

We believe the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and, that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (Acts 2:18-36; Rom 3:24-25; Eph 1:7; I Pet 2:24; I Pet 1:3-5)

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven and is now Exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Acts 1:9-10; Rom 8:34; Heb 9:24; 7:25; I John 2:1-2)

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and, that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption. (John 16:8-11; I Cor 12:12-14; II Cor 3:6; Eph 1:13-14)

We believe that He is a divine teacher who assists believers in understanding and appropriating the Scriptures, and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit. (Eph 1:17-18; 5:18; I John 2:20, 27)

We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the assembly in order that they can do the work of the ministry. (Rom 12:3-8; I Cor 12:4-11, 28; Eph 4:7-12)

The Total Depravity of Man

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God; but that in Adam’s sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God. Man is totally depraved and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. (Gen 1:26-27; Rom 3:22-23; 5:12; 6:23 Eph 2:1-3; 4:17-19)

Although each member of the human race is fallen, sinful, and lost, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for the salvation of man. The moment a person receives Christ as his Savior, immediately, the Holy Spirit indwells him, and he is sealed until the day of redemption. (Rom 2:23; John 3:7; I Cor 6:19; Eph 1:13-14; Luke 24:49; Titus 3:5)

Salvation

We believe that salvation is the gift from God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. (John 1:12; Eph 1:7; 2:8-10; I Pet 1:18-19; I John 1:9)

Therefore, humanity is saved by undeserved mercy through faith and nothing of humanity enters salvation; it is a free gift. One’s well-intended works before or after salvation have nothing to do with it. Salvation is by the finished work of Christ, and nothing can be added to His death, burial, and resurrection. (Eph 2:8-9; Gal 2:16; Rom 11:6; I Cor 15:1-4; Col 2:1; Titus 3:5; Rom 3:22-23; 6:23)

We believe that repentance and faith are inseparable graces, wrought in our souls by the quickening Spirit of God; thereby, being deeply convicted of our guilt, danger and helplessness, and of the way of salvation by Christ, we turn to God with confession and supplication for mercy; at the same time heartily receiving the Lord Jesus Christ and openly confessing Him as our only and all-sufficient Savior. (Rom 10:9-10)

The Extent of Salvation

We believe that when an unregenerate person exercises that faith in Christ which is illustrated and described as such in the New Testament, he passes immediately out of spiritual death into spiritual life and from the old creation into the new; being justified from all things, accepted before the Father according as Christ His Son is accepted, loved as Christ is loved, having his place and portion as linked to Him and with Him forever. Though the saved one may have occasion to grow in the realization of his blessings and to know a fuller measure of divine power through yielding of his life more fully to God, he is, as soon as he is saved, in possession of every spiritual blessing and absolutely complete in Christ. (John 5:24; 17:23; Acts 13:39; Rom 5:1; I Cor 3:21-23; Eph 1:3; Col 2:10; I John 4:17; 5:11-12)

Sanctification

We believe that sanctification, which is a setting-apart unto God, is three-fold: It is already complete for every saved person because his position toward God is the same as Christ’s position. Since the believer is in Christ, he is set apart unto God in the measure in which Christ is set apart unto God. We believe, however, that he retains his sin nature, which cannot be eradicated in his life. Therefore, while the standing of the Christian in Christ is perfect, his present state is no more perfect than his experience in daily life. There is, therefore, a progressive sanctification wherein the Christian is to “grow in grace” and “to be changed” by the unhindered power of the Spirit. We believe also that the child of God will yet be fully sanctified in his standing in Christ when he shall see his Lord and shall be “like Him.” (John 17:17; II Cor 3:18; 7:1; Eph 4:24; 5:25-27; I Thess 5:23; Heb 10:10, 14; 12:10)

The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers

We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and thus secure in Christ forever. (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom 8:1; 38-39; I Cor 1:4-8; I Pet 1:4-5)

We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. (Rom 13:13-14; Gal 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)

The Church

We believe that the local church, which is the body and espoused bride of Christ, is solely made up of born-again persons. (I Cor12:12-14; II Cor 11:2; Eph 1:22-23; 5:25-27)

We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; I Tim 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)

We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority and control. (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Rom 16:1, 4; I Cor 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; I Pet 5:1-4)

We recognize water baptism and the Lord’s Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of obedience for the church in this age. (Matt 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 18:18; I Cor 11:23-26)

Separation

We believe that all saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord. God commands His people to separate from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasure, practices, and associations, and to refrain from all immodest and immoderate appearances. (Lev 19:28; Rom 12:1-2; 14:13; I Cor 6:19-20; II Cor 6:14-7:1; II Tim 3:1-5; I John 2:15-17; II John 9-11)

The Great Commission

We believe that it is the explicit message of our Lord Jesus Christ to those whom He has saved that they are sent forth by Him into the world even as He was sent forth of His Father into the world. We believe that after they are saved, they are divinely reckoned to be related to this world as strangers and pilgrims, ambassadors and witnesses, and that their primary purpose in life should be to make Christ known to the world through personal evangelism and discipleship. (Matt 28:18-19; Mark 16:15; John 17:18; Acts 1:8; II Cor 5:18-20; I Pet 1:17; 2:11)

The Second Advent of Christ

We believe in that blessed hope, the personal, imminent return of Christ, Who will rapture His church prior to the seven-year tribulation period. At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints, to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom which was promised to the nation of Israel. (Ps 89:3-4; Dan 2:31-45, Zech 14:4-11; I Thess 1:10, 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Rev 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6)

The Eternal State

We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (Matt 25:46; John 5:28, 29; 11:25-26; Rev 20:5-6, 12-13)

We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. (Luke 23:43; II Cor 5:8 Phil 1:23; 3:21; I Thess 4:16-17; Rev 20:4-6)

We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious punishment and torment until the second resurrection, when the soul and body reunite, then they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment and torment. (Matt 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; II Thess 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev 20:11-15)

The Personality of Satan

We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the Fall of Man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. (Job 1:6-7; Isa 14:12-17; Matt 4:2-11; 25:41; Rev 20:10)

Creation

We believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject evolution and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of origin. (Gen1-2; Ex 20:11)